Master of Fear
by hochmodel
Summary: Felix, Ralph, Vanellope, and Tamora Calhoun decide to game jumping. Problem: they may lose their sanity in the process.


**I do not own anything in any way. This is a modified scene from my role play with Silvercivet. I play Felix, Vanellope and Scarecrow, and she plays Tamora, Ralph and Batman. I tried to keep as much of the original work as possible, with a few changes of lines and actions (the RP is going on 600+ pages, and there are OC's and references to other scenes). **

"Na na na na na na na Batman! Batman!" Vanellope hollered as she approached Ralph. "We wanna jump into Gotham city! How does that sound?"

"Gotham city?" That was somewhere they hadn't gone in a while. "Works for me. Just don't try to take any of his gadgets this time."

"But they were awesome!" Vanellope protested. "And I had to protect _you guys _from the bad guy," she defended, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Un-huh. I think he had it handled, he does that for a living you know."

"Only because of me! I was the one who saved you guys."

He rolled his eyes at the racer but also grinned. "Of course."

"He finally admits it!" She happily exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Thank you, thank you. I'm no one special, really," she bragged, bowing several times. "Just a heroine."

He probably shouldn't have said anything to inflate her ego but he let her have it. "Yeah, yeah just don't get yourself into trouble this time."

"I won't. Besides, we'll have the Dark Knight and his sidekick, Tweety!"

"Robin, I don't think he'd appreciate you calling him that."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen...

"Have you even seen Batman, Tammy?" Felix asked her as he stirred the Mac N' Cheese that Vanellope had practically demanded she have an hour ago.

"The old one no, I'm not sure on the animated ones. Didn't watch much TV." She shrugged a bit as she watched him cook.

He nodded. She wasn't much of a TV watcher now, either. "Still, I think you'd like it. The older one was goofy, but the animated one was very dark and solemn. You really sympathized with the characters. My favorite was always Robin."

"Maybe we could find them to show her." She motioned over her shoulder in Vanellope's direction. The kid could use some better shows than what was on half the time anyway.

"Nah, it's fine. I highly doubt they're anywhere. Besides, we have the real thing!" He happily told her. "And that's hard to substitute."

"That's true.." They were lucky to be what they were, they had access to so many different worlds almost whenever they wanted. Humans didn't have that ability, so they had to rely on TV, movies and books to get that.

"I just hope we don't run into The Riddler again," he told her. "But he is actually quite tame compared to some of the villains we could have run into."

"I'll wear my armor just in case."

"That's a good idea," he agreed. He drained the pasta and made the cheese sauce for the dish.

She nodded before falling silent again as she watched him cook. As he neared finishing she got up to gather plates, forks and napkins, bringing them over to set the table.

He finished and set the macaroni in four dishes and poured the cheese on three. "Why aren't you having any?" Vanellope asked.

"I'm lactose intolerant."

"Huh?"

"I can't have dairy."

She looked puzzled for a minute at her plate before shrugging and diving in to it.

Sitting back down at her seat she began to eat. They regularly had to remind her about it, it was odd for a character to have an allergy since it had to be specifically programmed in. But the two of them were used to it by now. She didn't even mind drinking the soy milk now but he still insisted on getting the regular too. It still felt like an accident waiting to happen to her.

"So, wait, what would happen if you were to have dairy?" Vanellope asked.

"Just a lot of stomach pain and some other symptoms," he told her. He really didn't want to go into detail.

"Why?"

"It's the way I was programmed."

"Why?"

Felix shrugged. "Ask them. But I make do."

They never knew why hey were sometimes programmed the way they were; it wasn't the first reason Tamora wanted to throttle a programmer. The humans didn't need to program things into their lives to make them more difficult, all for entertainment.

"So, who's excited to see Batman!? Sweet mother of monkey milk I can't wait to see him and maybe even The Riddler, again," she exclaimed, practically bouncing in her chair.

"Sounds like fun. Though I still hope we don't run into any of their bad guys. They don't always seem to know the meaning of the words 'arcade closed'." Ralph dug into his food.

"But we have Batman, so we're fine," Vanellope retorted. "And then Sarge has her armor and gun in case any of them are really dangerous, you have your giant, meaty hands to beat them up, and Felix has his hammer in case one of us gets hurt."

Tamora knew she would have to be cautious if they went there but having been there before she knew a little of what to expect; she was definitely taking her armor.

Ralph flexed his hands. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"It's not like we're in any more danger than when we jump to other games," Vanellope continued. "You could get hurt or killed really anywhere." A reminder that worked wonders on Felix's nerves. He liked living and planned on continuing to do so, thank you very much. "Now are you slowpokes done? I'm only about a fifth as tall as any of you- with the exception of Shorty McShrimpants over there with the hat- and I always finish before all of you."

Tamora was starting to not want to go anymore. They had a pretty rough two weeks and she had almost lost him enough. Did she want to go into a game with the potential for more problems? "Maybe we should do something else.."

"Aww, come on! You said we could. And nothing bad happened last time! So The Riddler ambushed us. We ended up being fine," Vanellope defended. "We're a good team. We always end up fine."

Felix gave his wife a questioning look. She was okay with it, before. Why the sudden change?

She watched Vanellope with a frown on her face. What if something were to happen? The Riddler wasn't the worst that lived in that game. She wouldn't let anything happen. Still reluctant to go, she relented for now. "...Alright, I'll get ready." Pushing her bowl forward a bit, she ate about half of it, she headed towards the bedroom to change into her armor.

"Do you think Batman will say," Vanellope lowered her voice and made a sound like she had been shoveling salt down her throat. "'I'm Batman'? I hope so!"

Felix wasn't too keen on going, either. He had a bad feeling about this, but Tamora had said she was going to get ready and the other two were excited, so he supposed he was just being paranoid. It's not like all those villains just did horrible things to visitors for kicks. The Riddler really did nothing more than scare them, a little. Felix doubted if he was really a demented villain programmed a little too well, rather than someone who was trying to have some fun in a weird, twisted way.

He fell quiet and finished.

"He probably will. Though he may be taking some much needed time off. His job can't be an easy one." Ralph finished his food quickly and gathering his stuff and Vanellopes taking it to the sink.

Changing into her armor she made sure to check everything. Making sure her pistol was full of ammo, she had her combat knife, and everything was latched and in place before coming back out to where they were waiting.

Felix had since cleared the table and left everything in the sink for it to soak. He allowed an excited Vanellope to lead the way. She jumped in the air, excited about the prospect of visiting one of her favorite heroes.

They approached the terminal. Vanellope attempted to dash in, but Felix held her back, reminding her that some bad guys were like Ralph, and some weren't, so she still had to be careful in that game. She slowed her pace as they all went inside. "You're not to leave our side, Vanellope," Tamora angrily commanded.

Vanellope gulped, somewhat scared of the tone Tamora had used. "Yes, ma'am." She looked back to Ralph. "Who do you think we're going to meet?"

Tamora's words tended to be on the sharp side when she was on edge, but she didn't seem to notice it as she kept a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary around them. Her hand rested on her hip near her pistol.

"Hopefully just Batman or Robin, the villains can be a little…strange." Ralph shrugged as he glanced around the dark city.

Vanellope's eyes darted curiously at the city. "Oooh, what's that?!" She asked, running to an old, run down building. Felix raced after her.

"Vanellope, stop!"

"Venellope!" She took off after them without hesitation. What was she thinking just running into a game like this one no less? She should have listened to her instincts and not had them come.

"Kid! Come back here!" Ralph ran after the rest of them, trying to catch up with the young racer.

Vanellope ran into the room with everyone hot on her trail.

The lights shut off, overcoming the place with dark blacker than midnight. Vanellope grabbed Ralph, but angrily commanded for the villain to show himself. Felix, already nervous in the dark, unconsciously gripped his wife's hand, as if to make sure she was with him. If she was with him, he knew they were safe.

"Fear is a funny thing, that it is," a raspy voice whispered in the dark. "And your sanity is something that you'll surely miss…"

The lights flickered on, and Felix fearfully gasped. He knew this character. He had seen the villain in a number of episodes and comics. He looked a little different, as if the character decided to combine all of the versions of himself into one.

The faded pale yellow mask blended with the dim light. The dark maroon shirt and the khaki tights only confirmed Felix's fear to be true. His overcoat swayed with every step forward he took. Straw protruded from his clothing. A noose hung around his neck, being played with by his scythe. "I am the Scarecrow…master of fear!"

A gas filled the room. "Nobody breathe it in. Hold your breath!" Felix shouted, letting go of her hand and standing in front of them, almost guarding them.

"But-"

"JUST DON'T DO IT, VAN! TAMMY, GET THEM O-" He turned to see her, but it was too late. His eyes widened and the smell invaded his throat, making it feel raw.

Felix knew the antidote: fight it off. Be strong and know that it is all illusion. He loved Batman as a kid, and when not watching the series he read the comics. He knew the Scarecrow was just another escaped psychopath that only showed his dastardly face a few times. He wasn't nearly as dangerous as, say, the Joker.

He backed away fearfully and tripped over a runaway canister. Once on the ground, he twisted and turned, closing his eyes and gripping hair on his head as he saw Ralph, Vanellope, and Tamora, all locked away and damaged, with Felix helpless to do anything but watch as his loved ones slowly died. They cried out for him, begging for his hammer, but he was rendered useless. He failed them. He was too petrified to make a sound. He would be completely insane. There was no escape.

At the warning Tamora covered her mouth but still moved forward to stand in front of her husband and Vanellope that was one thing she didn't bring with her, her helmet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ralph cover his mouth with one hand and used the other to help Vanellope. They couldn't hold their breath forever, that much was obvious. This wasn't a villain like Ralph, This one was aiming to hurt her family. She would not allow that, not again.

Unable to hold her breath any longer, she couldn't help but take a deep breath. It hit her quickly. Her visions were different, not no more pleasant than his. In hers they were in Game Central Station, one of her worst nightmares unfolding. A Cybug swarm flew out of her game, starting to attack the avatars in the station.

Reaching for her riffle she found it missing, as was the pistol that normally hung from her waist. Looking down at herself, her armor was gone too. She was defenseless. That was when she heard the screams, ones that had her whipping around in the other direction. She saw the other three get surrounded by Cybugs, Ralph doing his best to keep them back by punching them, breaking a few but it seemed like for every one that would fall, two more would take its place.

They weren't anywhere near her, but she saw the event unfold as if they were the only ones in the station, he couldn't keep them back from all sides, Felix's hammer would do no good against them and neither him or Vanellope really knew how to fight.

Dying by Cybug in her game was nothing new to her or her men, but it was not pleasant. Cybugs that weren't hybridized with a weapon had sharp metal claws and mandibles to draw it's pray into whirling gears like a garbage disposal inside of its mouth. They didn't stand a chance as more neared them and literally began to tear them apart.

Not having watched any of the shows or read the comics, she didn't know what the gas was doing to her or how to stop it as she clutched her head in an attempt to stop the visions inside her head. Despite the horrors only her eyes could see, she still stood in front of them.

Just like in good Batman villain fashion, Scarecrow wasn't going to let anyone get away. He swung some of his gas towards the others before throwing himself at them, blade aimed directly at the beautiful blonde.

Vanellope screamed as the blade made contact with Tamora. The gas penetrated her nostrils. "What is that?!-"

Hearing her yell made Felix come back to his senses. He _had _to fight it. He saw Tamora on the floor and found adrenaline coursing through him.

Scarecrow lurched back, ready for another attack.

Felix wouldn't allow this.

He leaped up through the illusion and tackled the man to the ground. They rolled on the floor, the Scarecrow brandishing his scythe while Felix attempted to pin him down. Vanellope shrieked again, distracting Felix. Scarecrow easily threw him to the side of the building, knocking his head into the wall. He groaned as the pain flooded his battered brain. Scarecrow tossed the scythe, missing Felix's head by mere inches but pinning his shirt to the wall.

Vanellope darted away to block him, the gas filling her throat. "No," she stated softly, looking as if she had seen a ghost. "Turbo…"

"Vanellope, get out of the way," Felix cried out. "Move!"

Ralph was able to hold his breath a little longer than them, the gas not effecting him yet as he rushed forward to pick Vanellope up in one of his arms, almost like a foot ball before yanking the Scythe out of the wall that pinned Felix, clamping his mouth shut as he struggled to hold his breath.

The pain was all too real to her as the blade plunged past her collarbone and into her chest. Due to her armor covering the vital parts it missed her heart as she fell to the ground. She didn't see Scarecrow coming, but a Cybug attacking her. What was the point in fighting anymore? She had just seen them get torn apart. What was there to fight for anymore?

No. She wasn't going to just lay there and die, not after what she had just seen. Gritting her teeth she pushed herself off of the ground with a wordless battle cry, the Cybug in her sights. It wasn't paying attention to her anymore, probably already thought of her as dead. Pushing off the ground she charged at it, knocking it to the ground. In her mind, she may not have her weapons, but that wasn't going to stop her from taking it down with her.

Scarecrow plunged into the ground, caught off-guard by the leading lady. He rolled around and tackled her. "Now, now, my pretty, don't be unkind. This may be your chance to shine." He eerily, whispered in her ear, pinning her hands above her head. "Playthings are always fun, with fear invading your head like a gun."

Felix advised to them what was happening with the gas. He told Vanellope, who was fighting off an invisible Turbo, that it was all fake and that she couldn't let it affect her. He glanced over to them to see the position she was in.

He saw red.

No one touched her. Not after what he had seen.

He hopped off of Ralph and crashed into them. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" He roared as he squared Scarecrow. "SHE'S NOT YOUR PLAYTHING!"

The Cybug in her mind fought back, tussling with her for control but the knife in her chest, and the blood pouring from the wound was making her week and she soon found herself pinned to the ground. Gears whirled above her as the Cybug leaned in closer then…spoke. Cybugs don't speak, they could only utter sounds but she distinctly heard it talk. That was when it hit her, she wasn't in Game Central, she was in another game, game jumping. The gas, the guy in the mask.

They hadn't been killed by Cybugs, but this man could do the same thing if he wasn't stopped. Her mind didn't fully clear as she fought against his grip, trying t throw him off of her. His weight soon vanished, though not from her doing as he was tackled to the side.

Scarecrow quickly gripped Felix by the throat and wrapped the noose around his neck. "One last breath for the little man, over here."

Fighting against the effects of the gas, she moved towards him. "…Let him go, or I will do something that will haunt me the rest of my life," She growled as she formed a pouncing position.

There was no noise in the shadows behind them as a new figure entered the building, having heard the screaming the dark knight crept around, unseen as he circled around behind the villain. He had someone, people from another game trapped with one of his little games, but he knew better. A regulator kept the gas from affecting him as he came around behind Scarecrow.

Felix felt a bout of madness come back to him as the gas surrounded him. He almost wanted Scarecrow to end him, but he couldn't let his family down.

The noose pulled, tighter around his neck, making it harder to breathe in combination with the gas. "You survive in fear," Felix choked out.

The Scarecrow stilled.

Felix closed his eyes to the hallucinations that penetrated his thoughts, continuing to behave as though he wasn't being affected. "You're addicted to fear. It's what keeps you in business. But-" Scarecrow pushed the rope so far up his neck it nearly snapped.

"Ralph! Help!" Vanellope cried. "Turbo's got me!"

Tamora tensed, hesitating as he held Felix up by the throat. She didn't want to rush forward and cause him to kill Felix in his haste, but if she didn't do something, she would lose him anyway. Tightening her grip onto the knife in her hand as she fought against the illusions clouding her own mind enough to find an opening.

As the rope was held tighter, a bat-a-rang came out of seemingly that severed the rope to the noose that constricted his Felix dropped to the floor she charged forward, not caring what had cut the rope, just concerned with getting the threat away from him long enough for him to get away.

Ralph held Vanellope tighter to him, as he had his own illusions clouding his vision having not been able to hold his breath forever, just holding onto her as he fought against it. "I got you, kid. There is no Turbo. Fight it."

Felix instinctively gasped for breath, tugging away at the rope that had nearly killed him. The gas filled his lungs, causing his hallucination to become worse. Vanellope and Ralph lay dead, supported only by their chains. Tamora screamed for him. He fought against his restraints, but she were completely at the sadist's mercy. He called their names, shouted obscenities, _anything _to get those...those fiends to leave her alone.

He gripped the straw on the ground as he squinted and pushed through. "Come on," he thought. "Think of it as a nightmare. It's just a nightmare. None of it's really happening."

He found a bat-a-rang and slightly smiled. They were saved.

"STOP! HE'S HURTING ME!" Vanellope screamed. "STOP HURTING ME! DON'T HURT MY KART! LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Scarecrow whipped his head around. "Batman."

He slowly stepped out of the shadows as the Scarecrow spoke his name, signature costume still keeping him mostly in shadow. "What have I told you about this not being a good way to welcome guests from other worlds?" His voice was gravely and low as he stepped forward quickly, bringing his leg around in a round house kick directed at the villains chest. The gas was of no use against him with the regulator covering his mouth.

Tamora stopped as another shadow stepped out from the darkness, her visions fighting against her as her panting breaths only brought more gas into her lungs. Her hands were shaking slightly as the illusions tried to take her mind again. Reaching up to clutch her head, she smeared blood into her hair and on her face.

Scarecrow tumbled to the ground before leaping back up and slamming Batman with a punch to the face. "I don't work that way, Batman. _Fear _is my power." He heat butted Batman and ripped off his mask. "Even something you're not immune to."

Felix had to find them. Even delusions could take over if he didn't have something to keep him on earth. "Tammy?! Tammy, where are you?!"Even though his eyes were open, all he saw was a black cell and his bloody family. He fought back tears and screamed Tamora's name. "Where are you?! I need to know you're here! It's just a trick; none of its real! Where are you?!"

As his hand neared his face, dodging the punch but snatching the mask from him he held his breath. He had fought this foe before, many times in this game. Though he wasn't immune to the gas, he conditioned himself to hold his breath for long periods of time. He didn't answer him as he threw a punch back aiming for his jaw.

She could hear his name, but just barely through the illusions she fought against. Was that really his voice? Or another illusion? Her legs growing weak she dropped to her knees as she clutched her hair. "…Felix" She spoke through gritted teeth, trying to keep the vision of them being torn apart by Cybugs out of her head.

Scarecrow staggered back ad collapsed at the punch. He wiped the trickle of blood off of his mouth before roaring and charging at Batman.

There was a problem if she didn't respond. He fell to his knees and crawled around, searching for her and calling out her name. When he did find her, he carefully put his arms around her. "I'm right here," he told her. "It's all okay-I'm right here."

Vanellope, being scared, unconsciously glitched out of Ralph's hands. She screamed louder as Scarecrow came near, thinking he was Turbo. She glitched about, trying to run away.

Wanting to end this quickly while he still held his breath he pulled out another bat-a-rang though this one had a wire with one on rack end. Tossing the device it whipped around, tangling around the charging villain's legs.

She was still unable to see the real world though as his arms went around her she didn't push him away. His touch was firm but gentle. Still clutching her head she curled in on herself as she tried without success to push the images from her mind. Real or not, she had dreamed of this scenario enough times.

When she glitched out of his hands he grabbed at her. "Vanellope! Its not real!" Chasing after her he finally caught the Hood of her sweat shirt and brought her closer as he attempted to take her outside and away from the gas.

Scarecrow fell to the ground with a yelp and a thump. He hit his head hard on the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Felix's illusion faded enough to see her curled into herself. He rubbed small circles on her back and spoke in a soothing voice,"I'm right here. It's okay. It's nothing more than...it's a nightmare. Think of it like a nightmare. That's all it is."

"Ralph?" Vanellope shakily whispered through her tears. "What's going on?"

As the villain went still, Batman stepped forward and grabbed him by the back of his clothes and began to drag him out of the building. Pausing to pick up his regulator he placed it back in his mouth and took a few deep breaths. "You both need to get out of here, or the visions wont fully clear."

Felix's soothing presence caused her vision to flicker between illusion and reality as she turned to look at him. He was in one piece, his eyes much more focused than hers. "…You're alive.."

Ralph held her close to his chest as he stood back from the building. He wanted to go back in after the others, but didn't want to leave her by herself, and there was no way he was taking her back in. "It was all an illusion, none of it was real."

Felix's breath was shaky, but he managed a thank you and a smile at Batman. He grabbed Tamora's hand and led her through the dim light. "I've got you. We're all here. It's okay," he told her, trying as hard as he could to ignore his own illusion. At the sound of his someone's scream, he arched back and cradles his head in his hands, skidding to a full stop. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," he repeated, trying to calm both of them down. "We need to get out of here, quickly." He took her hand again and darted through the doors, gasping for fresh air and falling to the ground, coughing.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds as her vision jumped, blurring as she was pulled to her feet. Opening them again she tried to focus on the reality around her instead of the images of them dying. As he finished tugging her out of the abandoned building and she began to breathe fresh air once more, the illusions started to fade, but the blurriness remained. When his pace slowed outside of the building, her feet felt like they were getting heavier, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Her vision swam, causing her to shut her eyes again, the right side of her face still smeared with blood from the scythe wound above her armor.

"Hammer man! Sarge!" Vanellope yelped.

Felix groaned as he forced himself off of the ground. "Well, that was…" he glanced to her and yelped. "Oh my land!" He tore his hammer away from his belt and quickly tapped the wound she was bleeding from. "Tammy, Tammy, are you okay?"

The bleeding stopped as the wound hit together from the effects of the hammer. Like always though it didn't replaced the blood lost, just the wound itself. Her vision still swam.

The illusions were fading the more fresh air she took in, but her skin was pale. Grunting she opened her eyes to look at them. "…You're alive.."

"I'm more worried about you, ma'am," he told her, his eyes wide and his breathing quick.

**And because I'm evil, end scene :)**


End file.
